Popcorn Perks
by demi smiles
Summary: Dani cooks dinner for Santana after her long day at work. Cuteness ensues. Tumblr: shehadaworldof-chances


Dani was sweating profusely. She was incredibly nervous. Rachel and Kurt had allowed her into the loft while Santana was out working, and to Dani's faintest hope, they had been planning on leaving for an honest homo-to-diva talk about "something pansy-ish", or at least, that was how Dani imagined Santana describing it in her head.

"You all set, Dani?" Dani's thoughts were broken into by the petite brunette standing in the doorframe to the kitchen. Rachel was dressed in a slim-fitting cobalt dress that Dani had to say looked very nice on her. Kurt appeared behind her, wearing a sleek silver suit, something that Dani should have predicted a long while ago.

She smiled at the duo in the door. "Absolutely. Thank you for letting me have this place. My apartment in the Bronx isn't exactly up to par." She paused, flushing embarrassedly. "Plus, how would I surprise Santana that way?"

Kurt nodded and winked at the blonde. "Obviously," he said before looking down at Rachel. "Ready to go, Ms. Brice? Our reservation is at seven and it's quite a long subway ride."

Dani formed a tight-lipped smile at the pair's interaction, and said a joking "have a nice date," as they walked out of the loft together, arm in arm.

"You too!" Kurt called, before cupping his free arm around his lips to whisper. "Quite literally. Oh, and Dani?"

"Yeah?"

Kurt shifted his eyes to see if Rachel was listening intently. "We won't be back until midnight, so…go wild."

Dani resisted throwing the spoon she was cooking with at the boy. "Shut up!"

"Have a nice night," he called out singingly as he took lead of Rachel, prancing out the door.

With a sigh of relief, Dani began to focus more clearly on her cooking. Last time she had been over at the loft, she had noticed the utter bareness of cooking supplies, so to her chagrin, she had been forced to bring her own ratty tin cooking utensils and bowls to grind out a good meal with before Santana would arrive home at around seven forty-five.

She had heavy-metal music playing – Maylene and the Sons of Disaster to be exact – which didn't exactly fit with the whole vibe she was trying to create when Santana first appeared through the door, but at the moment, she needed something to counter her sheer nerves and the screaming and heavy guitar seemed to do it.

Dani wanted to create something that wasn't diner food for once, so she settled on a Caesar salad with chicken, done better than the one that the Spotlight served. Salad had seemed easy and somewhat romantic enough, and with the touch of chicken, Dani was able to season it and brown it to her specific liking. She had also pilfered two bottles of champagne from Rachel's illegally garnered alcohol supply and had one of them chilling in the fancy ice bucket she had splurged on at the supermarket. However for dessert, which was in the oven now, Dani created a crème brûlée that she planned on surrounding with fresh berries as soon as it came out of the oven.

And of course, adding even more to Dani's desire to create a perfect date, she had rented _The Perks of Being a Wallflower _from the Redbox around the corner, something she knew was Santana's both guilty pleasure book and movie. _"Emma Watson just looks great with short hair! It's like super-lesbian!" _Dani had laughed.

She was done with dinner by seven thirty, the plates of salad chilling in the fridge and the crème brûlée cooling on a platter as Dani surrounded the top of it with sweet berries to off-set the initial burnt taste. As the clock came closer to seven forty-five, Dani swept around the kitchen, obsessively arranging the flowers in the vase on the table and constantly checking the mirror to see if her hair and makeup were okay. Finally, she lit the candles and dimmed the lights before turning the heavy metal into one of Kurt's classical music CDs.

It was seven forty-eight, and Santana had yet to arrive which left Dani pacing the loft and wringing her fingers even though the girl was only three minutes late. Finally, at seven fifty-two, Dani heard the key turn in the door and felt the pit of her stomach sink and turn into butterflies.

"What the – Dani?"

Dani walked closer to Santana pressed a chaste kiss on the darker girl's cheek before Santana grabbed her face to kiss her directly on her lips.

Afterwards, Santana took in the candles and flowers and the smell of fresh French dessert. "You did all this? For me?"

Dani grabbed Santana's hand and led her to the table, taking off her coat and putting on the rack near the door before pulling out her chair for her. Before walking to the refrigerator, Dani placed a kiss on the top of Santana's head. "Of course. It's been three months."

As Dani withdrew the salad from the fridge, Santana questioned her. "Babe, what's the big deal about three months?"

Dani smiled shyly. "Maybe it's not a big deal to you, but it is to me."

Santana blushed. "That's adorable. Well, if it's a big deal to you, then it is for me."

The blonde girl set a plate in front of Santana and then at her own place before retrieving the dressing. As she sat down, the two fell into a comfortable conversation and Dani felt her nerves dissipate from Santana's smile. They talked about various things – angry customers at the Spotlight that afternoon, childhood stories, and more.

"You seriously don't know how to ride a bike?" Santana exclaimed as the two were setting into their dessert, her eyes wide.

Dani shook her head. "Nope. My brother fell over the handlebars when he was five and got a concussion. It's freaked me out ever since."

Santana nodded understandingly as she took a bite of the crème brûlée. "Mmm, this is really good, babe. Did you make it?"

Dani smiled proudly and appreciatively. "Yup! Thank you. I was so nervous it wouldn't come out right."

The brown-haired girl laughed and grabbed a bit of the custard to reach across the table and smear it on her girlfriend's face badly.

"Hey!" Dani yelled, dissolving into a peal of laughter. "You're asking for one back! And you're lucky I can touch my tongue with my nose!"

"No shit?" Santana responded. "Let me see."

Dani sighed and extended her tongue to lick the custard off her face ungracefully. "Happy?"

Santana smirked. "Yes."

Dani finished her dessert first and she walked back over to the counter to pop a bag of popcorn into the microwave before going back to take Santana's plate.

"Aww…and they say chivalry is dead."

Dani hit her with her napkin. "Shut up!"

Santana waggled her eyebrows. "So what are we watching?"

The shorter girl went back to the kitchen to retrieve the popcorn from the now-beeping microwave. "Only your favorite guilty pleasure," she teased, now pouring the popcorn into a bowl and taking it over to the television area and setting it on the couch.

"You got 'Perks'?" Santana was quickly excited as she saw Dani display the case in a very Vanna White-esque fashion. The taller girl crossed the room and gave her girlfriend a quick peck on the lips before curling into the couch with a pillow in her lap.

Dani went to blow out the candles and then settled into the couch with Santana, wrapping an arm around her as she felt Santana take her hand. Quietly, she whispered into Santana's ear during the opening credits. "Hey…I bet I know what you're going to say. And I bet I can predict when you're going to say it."

"I like Emma Watson, okay? She's got some fine lady parts! And the short hair does them justice!"

Dani giggled and tightened her embrace around Santana before she felt an idea pop into her head. She grabbed a handful of popcorn from the bowl and snaked her arm back around Santana only to then shove it down the back of her shirt.

"Oh my God! You little shit!" Santana exclaimed cheerfully only to reach into the bowl to find Dani's hand locked around another handful. After they had both secured the popcorn, Santana took the first strike and threw it into Dani's face violently. The other girl swatting at her with a fistful of the snack.

"You got it in my hair!"

"You got it in my shirt! My diner uniform, no less!"

Dani smiled coyly. "Do you hate me?"

Santana glared at her from the side of her eyes. "Yes." But then, she placed the popcorn in her mouth and gave Dani an open-lipped kiss.

"Oh my God, you are disgusting!" Dani yelled, swallowing the popcorn.

"It's nothing you haven't had before," Santana replied innocently, a musical quality to her voice.

Dani fumed good-naturedly. "I hate you."

Santana turned to her and kissed her forcefully. "No you don't."

"I really do."

"Really? Because you're the one who started this."

"Yeah, but I wasn't expecting grease in my hair. I hate you."

"No you don't."

Dani smiled and pushed Santana down on the couch, "Perks" playing in the background and attacked her lips, seeking for an entrance. She could taste the salty popcorn still on Santana's tongue as she moved down to her neck, her fingers teasing under Santana's diner uniform. "I hate you."

"You love me."

Dani stopped for a moment and hesitated. "I do. I do love you."

Santana's eyes went wide with Dani on top of her and she smiled suddenly. "I guess three months is a big deal." She paused. "I love you too."


End file.
